With the fast development and wide-spread adoption of computing and telecommunication technologies, many consumer business transactions can now be conducted over the Internet and/or telephone without requiring a customer to physically visit any business premises. Consumers can now easily go online to purchase goods and services, issue bill payments, and handle their investments, for example. So long as a networked computer or mobile device is available, a consumer could accomplish so much without traveling at all.
However, there are exceptions to such freedom and convenience afforded by the Internet technology. For example, certain banking and financial services transactions still require the physical presence of the customers involved, such as for account opening or mortgage approval. Often a customer is asked to come visit a banking branch or loan office just to present a valid identification (e.g., a driver license or passport) or show possession of certain legal documents (e.g., a deed or certificate). While it may be imperative for a financial institution to verify a customer's true identity and/or confirm the authenticity of certain documents, it may be quite inconvenient for the customer to physically travel somewhere and meet someone during business hours. Existing or prospective customers might delay or even forego the required visits, causing the requisite authentication to be unfulfilled and sometimes even a loss of customer relationship or business opportunities.
It has been noticed that consumers tend to have a “sticky” relationship with a bank managing their checking and savings accounts. While it is often easy to lure a consumer to switch from using one credit card of a first issuer to using another credit card of a second issuer, it is extremely difficult to persuade a banking customer to transfer his or her checking or savings accounts from one bank to another or simply establish a new account with a different bank. Part of the reason is that the opening of a new bank account (also known as “client onboarding”) would typically require a new account-holder to visit a local banking branch at least once, for example, to show multiple forms of identification and proof of address or employment. Considered by many as an unnecessary hassle, the conventional account-opening procedures may have prevented banking customers from switching banks or establishing new accounts more frequently.
The above-described requirements for the physical presence of a customer may be perceived as particularly inconvenient by the younger generation of banking customers who have got used to conducting business online rather than in person. The younger generation, however, is where business opportunities are most abundant.
Consumer banks have made tremendous efforts to offer convenience to banking customers, allowing them to access account information, deposit checks, and/or transfer funds remotely from networked computing devices. Such convenience also comes with a higher risk of fraud and security breaches. For instance, someone other than an authorized accountholder may gain access and steal funds; counterfeit checks or fake check images may be deposited. Thus, banks may find themselves in a dilemma: on the one hand it is desirable to grant remote access to customers without “seeing” them or their documents; on the other hand, the lack of “seeing” puts the banks themselves at risk.
Other problems and drawbacks also exist in prior customer authentication and checkout methods.